“My Involvement in The Battle of The Bulge” Name: Roger Holk Age: 19 Hometown: New York, New York. Ethnicity: American Occupation: Soldier
That day was one of the coldest I can recall ever living through. I'd heard tell that the German winters were a lot worse than those in America, but I never, ever thought it'd be that bad. We were on our way toward sea, but well, we never quite got there. We were interrupted by some unexpected guests. The German Offensive cut us off by complete surprise. I, for one, never saw it coming (Kline 1).
Early morning on December 16th, 1944, we were camped in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. The Germans happened to figure out where it was we were. They found a weak spot in our defense system, and attacked. This sent us whirling through confusion. We were pushed back pretty far where the Germans hit, I was right at the front of it. That part where we were knocked back is where the battle earned the name “The Battle of The Bulge.”
The Germans demanded that we turn over Bastogne. We’d have none of it, however. Even when we were at our lowest, we managed to pull through. We were stronger than I ever could've imagined we were. We countered with a fury. All I can recall is being surrounded by hundreds of Germans. It was a crazy fight and it turned around before I was able to blink. Before long, we were taking out German soldiers like it was what we were born to do (Leonard 1). I imagine that retaliation would have been much easier had we been able to use aircraft, but the weather would not allow for it. This made me nervous like no other. Since it had taken us a while to get back on our feet, I felt we could use all the help we could get, but luckily we turned out to do just fine.
The battle never seemed to end. Week after week it was just non-stop going at it with the German army. Planes kept coming in;
Allies did all they could to keep at it without falling. I didn’t think that I’d be able to make it through all the way with the cold and all
of the chaos going on around me. After six weeks, it was finally done. I had never been more relieved in my life. In mid-January, we
were finally able to press on, and find a place with shelter and heat and good food. While I was glad to get out, there were many,
many people who didn’t. Of the 610,000 American troops, 19,000 ended up dead. 50,000 of us were wounded, and approximately
21,000 ended up as POW’s or missing. This was nothing, however, in comparison to the 120,000 German casualties. After the battle
ended, my regime got to go home. They felt as though we deserved to leave since we’d gone through the worst part, the surprise
attack. I’m just glad I lived through to tell the tale, and that we won our battle (Sorely 1).
Image Citation:
"American POWs Captured during the Battle of the Bulge." U.S. Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. December 1944. National Archives and Records Administration. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE52&iPin=AHI1029&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 24, 2007).
Leonard, Michael. "Battle of the Bulge." Encyclopedia of American History: The Great Depression and World War II, 1929 to 1945, vol. 8. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Hunterdon Central High School. 22 Oct 2007.
Sorley, Lewis. "Battle of the Bulge." Encyclopedia of American Military History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Hunterdon Central High School. 23 Oct. 2007.
Name: Roger Holk
Age: 19
Hometown: New York, New York.
Ethnicity: American
Occupation: Soldier
That day was one of the coldest I can recall ever living through. I'd heard tell that the German winters were a lot worse than those in America, but I never, ever thought it'd be that bad. We were on our way toward sea, but well, we never quite got there. We were interrupted by some unexpected guests. The German Offensive cut us off by complete surprise. I, for one, never saw it coming (Kline 1).
Early morning on December 16th, 1944, we were camped in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. The Germans happened to figure out where it was we were. They found a weak spot in our defense system, and attacked. This sent us whirling through confusion. We were pushed back pretty far where the Germans hit, I was right at the front of it. That part where we were knocked back is where the battle earned the name “The Battle of The Bulge.”
The Germans demanded that we turn over Bastogne. We’d have none of it, however. Even when we were at our lowest, we managed to pull through. We were stronger than I ever could've imagined we were. We countered with a fury. All I can recall is being surrounded by hundreds of Germans. It was a crazy fight and it turned around before I was able to blink. Before long, we were taking out German soldiers like it was what we were born to do (Leonard 1). I imagine that retaliation would have been much easier had we been able to use aircraft, but the weather would not allow for it. This made me nervous like no other. Since it had taken us a while to get back on our feet, I felt we could use all the help we could get, but luckily we turned out to do just fine.
The battle never seemed to end. Week after week it was just non-stop going at it with the German army. Planes kept coming in;
Allies did all they could to keep at it without falling. I didn’t think that I’d be able to make it through all the way with the cold and all
of the chaos going on around me. After six weeks, it was finally done. I had never been more relieved in my life. In mid-January, we
were finally able to press on, and find a place with shelter and heat and good food. While I was glad to get out, there were many,
many people who didn’t. Of the 610,000 American troops, 19,000 ended up dead. 50,000 of us were wounded, and approximately
21,000 ended up as POW’s or missing. This was nothing, however, in comparison to the 120,000 German casualties. After the battle
ended, my regime got to go home. They felt as though we deserved to leave since we’d gone through the worst part, the surprise
attack. I’m just glad I lived through to tell the tale, and that we won our battle (Sorely 1).
American Prisoner of War.
<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemIDWE52&iPinAHI1029&SingleRecord=True>
Image Citation:
"American POWs Captured during the Battle of the Bulge." U.S. Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. December 1944. National Archives and Records Administration. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE52&iPin=AHI1029&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 24, 2007).
Citations:
Kline, John. "Battle of The Bulge." Battle of The Bulge. 06 November 2006. 22 October 2007.
<http://ice.mm.com/user/jpk/battle.htm>
Leonard, Michael. "Battle of the Bulge." Encyclopedia of American History: The Great Depression and World War II, 1929 to 1945, vol. 8. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Hunterdon Central High School. 22 Oct 2007.
Sorley, Lewis. "Battle of the Bulge." Encyclopedia of American Military History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Hunterdon Central High School. 23 Oct. 2007.